We are only one week in to the NFL season and the sound bytes are already coming out of his mouth. He tries to suppress his feelings to a degree and come across as professional, but it’s not very difficult to see through. If you listen to his voice, there seems to be a mixture of mild anger, resentment, and the basic idea that he is not being given his due respect in New England. Randy Moss is not happy. Dear Randy, it is time to go home.

West Virginia could be a beautiful place to call home, but as Mr. Moss said in his press conference, he is not going to retire. It is time to go home though, home to Minnesota. The Vikings drafted Moss in the first round back in 1998, then proceeded to come within minutes of the Super Bowl at the end of that season. Randy stayed with the Vikes for six more seasons while amassing some unholy statistics. In fact, as good as Moss has been in New England,he was even better in Minnesota. During his first six years he averaged nearly 1400 yards per season. Unless your name is Jerry Rice, that is unheard of. Now while all of this may be true, he reached the Super Bowl with the Patriots once and it is certainly possible that New England could reach the big game again this season. So why leave now?

Randy Moss will not be a New England Patriot next season. That is what he believes and this week is not the first time he has expressed this opinion. While he loves playing with Tom Brady and appears to have great respect for Head Coach Bill Belichick, he certainly feels uneasy about other parties in New England. The Patriots have not offered Randy a new contract and because they are an organization that always tries to look at the business side of football, it would make sense not to lose Moss at the end of the year without getting anything in return. Minnesota makes sense as a trade partner for some very simple reasons. The Vikings are a legitimate Super Bowl contender that needs a big play wide receiver, they have draft picks available to trade, and they could even throw in a player like Bernard Berrian to help the Patriots offset the loss of number 81. Then the Vikes would be set with the tandem of Moss and Sidney Rice during the second half of the season when Rice is due to return from injury. In addition, Minnesota is more likely to offer Moss a 2-3 year extension than many teams. They could have the future Hall of Famer finish his career where it started, while the team continues to push towards a championship. The Vikings have just started their 50th season, and while they have had a great deal of success throughout the years, the gang in purple have never won a Super Bowl.

Trades of this magnitude almost never happen during the regular season, but it all comes down to answering a few questions. Will the Patriots have Randy Moss play the entire season and then let him go as a free agent afterward? Probably not. Will the Patriots give Moss an extension? They should, but their track record indicates they will not. Do the Vikings need him? Yes, and Minnesota has some options when it comes to trade bait. Wouldn’t it be both ironic and surreal if it took a Viking legend coming back, playing with a former Minnesota enemy(Favre), to bring that team it’s first NFL Championship? Yes. In fact, just uttering the words Favre to Moss seems beyond weird. So will this trade happen? Rick Speilman, time for some magic.